Concordia loses home game to the Montréal Carabins

Wanting to forget last weekend’s games, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team took to the ice Friday night hoping to give their home fans a good show. They came close, losing 5-3 at the hands of the Montréal Carabins.

With strong pressure storming out of the gate, the Stingers looked poised and ready to face the Carabins, who had beat them 4-2 in Concordia’s second game of the season at the CEPSUM Arena.

An early Concordia powerplay allowed the Stingers to converge on a great advantage. Forward Alyssa Sherrard redirected a point shot from teammate Veronique Laramee-Paquette to give them the lead 8:30 into the opening frame.

“We started the game off super well,” said goal-scorer Sherrard. “Our problem is confidence. We seem scared to win.”

Seven minutes later displayed a highlight reel play when Stingers rookie forward Tracy-Ann Lavigne took the puck from her own d

The Stingers vs. McGill. File photo by MJ Kelly

efensive zone and skated around three Carabins before a scramble in front of Montréal goaltender Sarah Mailloux led to a goal by Erin Lally.

“I saw the puck, grabbed it and decided to go for it,” said Lavigne about her strong end-to-end rush resulting in the team’s second goal. “[Erin] Lally yelled at me in front so I fed her the puck and we scored.”

Exactly one minute later after Lally’s goal, the Carabins took advantage of a forward miscue, which led to a two-on-one for the visitors with Maxie Plante wristing one five-hole on Stingers netminder Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon, cutting the deficit to one.

It was in the second period when the wheels fell off the wagon for the Stingers. Two and a half minutes in, Carabins forward Katia Murray took a strong shot turned aside by Lavoie-Pilon, but the goaltender thought she had possession of the puck when it wound up on the stick of Katherine Richard, who had a gaping net in front of her and made no mistake, tying the game at two.

Midway through the middle frame Stingers rookie center Kim Boismenu was assessed a minor for roughing. Stingers captain Mallory Lawton and Laramee-Paquette both were able to clear the puck, but with the penalty set to expire, Carabins’ Demmie Charlebois found the back of the net tipping a shot over the pad of Lavoie-Pilon.

Off the ensuing draw, Plante was able to get another for Montréal, doubling their lead to 4-2, 18 seconds after the third goal.

The Stingers gave up a fifth and final goal when Josianne Legault capped off a swift tic-tac-toe passing play by to end the second 5-2 in favour of the Carabins.

“Maybe we felt we had comfort in a 2-1 lead,” explained Stingers’ Mallory Lawton. “In the second we were just deflated, and their nifty forwards jumped on it and capitalized.”

Trying to shift gears, Stingers head coach Les Lawton gave his starting goaltender the rest of the evening off and giving Chelsey Hodges some ice time, her first since Oct. 27 at Ottawa.

The Stingers came back in the third with the same pressure displayed in the first. They were able to scrounge one last one out, with forward Emilie Bocchia finishing a nice move, undressing Mailloux out of position and shelfing a backhand goal.

The game ended without any more goals. With the loss, Concordia find themselves on a four game losing streak. The last victory came on Oct. 27 against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.